How to Relax When You’re in Charge of the Kids
When my son was little, we played a game I liked to call “Put Mommy to Take a Napping.” It kept him busy, helped him practice his parenting skills, and I had to lie down for a while. I know that I am not alone; parents of young children everywhere are trying to figure out how to raise their children lying down. And one dad graciously gave us another horizontal tactic to try.
This game is called ” Draw Me While I Relax .” It was created when tired father Michael Weber stayed at home with his four children while his wife Monica went grocery shopping. He had just finished his night shift and wanted to sit back in his chair, so he pulled out some drawing supplies, lined his children up in a row, and told them to draw it. Maternal explains :
The rules of the competition were that the most complete drawing would win a chocolate prize, thus keeping them glued in place for about 20 minutes of Monica’s trip to the store. Weber’s four children were old enough to understand what their father was up to (and old enough to wake him up from a light sleep if they needed to), but since they all enjoyed the art anyway, they played along.
We cannot approve of this trick when you are so tired that you may even fall asleep deeply, especially if your children are very young. It’s best to think of it as an opportunity to lie down and relax without entertaining them directly or answering someone’s questions for a few minutes.